AND THE ANZAC LEGENDS DIDN'T MENTION...

[agogemod]

AND THEN SOMEONE YELLED OUT "CONTACT!";

and the bloke behind me swore

THE SILENT WAR

The news of the day of the retreat spreads like wildfire through the Trenches. Leading up to the final date, all soldiers on the ground are instructed to limit their gunfire, to make it look like the usual traditions for warfare, which have determined much of human history up until this point: no one really goes to war in winter. Everyone is to maintain a verbal and physical presence, but the time to confuse the Turks has really become paramount. At times, whole sections are ordered to be perfectly quiet until the last possible second and then spring out before the Turks can get too close.

Which is just how it is supposed to be. In fact, for COST recruits, there's a real sense that this might just go according to plan.

Around this time, the Rear Guard signup starts. COST recruits are met with some surprise by Captain Lewis; he will blink in surprise at a group so new wanting to volunteer so readily, but he's glad and gives everyone who joins a big warm handshake.

Each day gets closer and the mood of the soldiers becomes more jubilant and tenser; the erratic sense of relief that they might be leaving what has become the graveyard of so many friends and, often times, family, combines with the frustration of not being able to do anything but wait. This leads to more than a few fights breaking out, often over nothing important. Just the edge of temporary relief.

Then, before dawn on Jan 7th, the evacuation begins in earnest. It's possible to see it from the top of some sections: a bustling populace until it trickles down to the ghost of the Trenches, where there is nothing left but the rear guard. It's a smooth, efficient evacuation.

The Rear Guard

This is a skeleton army, just enough to make it seem no one has left. Everyone is encouraged to come up with ways to make it seem like there are more men than there actually are.

The local soldiers have come up with a particularly sneaky one - a rope is wrapped around the trigger of a rifle, just loose enough not to pull it, and from the end of it hangs a bucket. Another container slowly drips water into the bucket until it fills and drops, pulling the rope around the trigger and firing the gun. Soldiers are tasked with emptying the water, refilling the cannister, or checking the gun if it looks like it has jammed.

Outside of that, if someone has a sneaky idea to keep up the ruse - even if it's lighting small fires or singing loudly in a chorus to give the notion of people still around - it's all encouraged.

THE THUNDER OF GUNS

Everything is going well. It's not even that worrying when a thick mist comes up, heavy and difficult to see through. But, for those with powers, it prickles oddly on bare skin, followed by a pressure that builds in the back of the mind. It seems to dull any extra powers or senses; magic and its ilk are still usable, but require more concentration to reach now.

In the stillness of the night, however, there is no breeze to move the fog on and it settles like oil through the trench.

It's 1am when the first shell drops. It falls to the east of the recruits' position at Lone Pine. It's a shell that comes down and splits apart the night air in an explosion of shrapnel, dirt and heat. Then a second, then a third, now starting from both sides.

All the soldiers' clamour out of the way and Captain Lewis can be heard shouting over the din: "Into the Tunnels!"

But not everyone can make it. The shells are coming steadily now and one step in the wrong direction is the difference between life and death in such a small space. It's chaos - some soldiers are killed outright. Others get buried under the debris and dirt. Others catch shrapnel that, if not fatal, is enough to throw them and make it hard to get up. But COST's mission is the same as it always is: save as many of these men's lives as possible.

There are four direct entries into the tunnels, all about four or five meters apart, and they're all interconnected within the tunnels themselves.

One by one, however, shells fall and destroy the entrances to the tunnels.

WARTIME ARCHEOLOGY

It takes another three hours for the bombardment to stop and, once the tunnel entrances collapse, it becomes very dark in there. Might be time to fish out a match and strike up a torch.

While Officers previously told soldiers to keep out of the tunnels and otherwise left them ignored, these tunnels are huge. Not like the ones in other sections of the coast; here, they seem to go far into No Man's Land. They're crudely constructed and only some sections are reenforced with heavy beams of wood. But once journeying into them, there are all sorts of things to be found. There are old gas lamps that can be used to light your way or hung on a secure nook or cranny. The stone has been worn smooth in some sections, and other parts have been carved with graffiti of the soldiers who cut them out.

Some locations go down a few steps, while others go up and small holes seem to have been dug through the roof of the tunnels.

It's definitely best to get away from the front of the tunnels, where the bombing is still going on. There are wounded to be seen to and secured from bleeding out, people to find to make sure everyone is still alive. Maybe you want to go farther into the interweaving tunnels to see what else can be recovered. Or maybe you're being stubbornly sensible and looking for a way to dig your way out again, once the bombs stop firing.

Either way, it's a long, exhausting wait in the dark as the ground shakes, showering dust and rocks over everyone.

INTO THE DAWN

The sun has risen when the firing stops - and it's time to search for a way out of here.

Stepping into the light reveals utter destruction. The concentrated bombing has done its work; everything is strewn or buried in dirt and rubble. Machine guns are overturned and parts of the Trench have collapsed; going over the top would be disastrous, given that the Turks have no idea what is happening and will pick off anyone who sticks their head up.

There also isn't...anyone else around. All that's left is this one segment of the rear guard, just 500 men and the COST soldiers. It isn't possible to discern if the other groups have been evacuated or killed at this point.

It's time to consolidate, count their losses, see who is alive and who isn't, and salvage what supplies are left after some digging clean up is done. Work out who needs to stand watch. For now, Captain Lewis' orders are to use the tunnels as a new base of operations.

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

They appear first as a shimmer of off-light, no more than a haze against the resettling mist. A faint shape against the grey - the long lines of a dog's face, almost Jackal-like, in a clean black uniform that gives more to the appearance of shadows - moves closer, but not too close. They could almost be a trick of the light, out of the corner of your eye. Almost intangible.

They're not moving closer, however, choosing to hang back in the rubble of the Trenches. The ANZAC soldiers don't seem to notice them at all.

Ten minutes after they're first spotted, Commander Grothia issues a priority message:

Contact. Regency soldiers. Do not engage.

If a shot does get fired that way, whether it's from Turkish or ANZAC soldiers unknowingly or from COST operatives: it's quick but, as the bullet seems to come into contact with them, the air around them shimmers blue, like it's hitting a field of light. This effect seems to be stronger when they're standing close together and, as of now, they remain unhurt.

Moving closer to them increases that feeling of mind fog on powered characters; for the unmagical, a sense of unease prickles up. It's a feeling not unlike the beginnings of the time-step, the hum of sensation that marks a transfer through time. Veteran recruits will easily recognize the buzz that dances through their bones before it stills as they move away; rookies might recall it from their initial arrival from BASE.

READ THE OOC INFOPAGE.

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Comments

[cutlery]

Well, I suppose one has to find a way to pass the time... [ There's still a light laugh in his voice, so it seems like that wouldn't be his preferred way to pass the time. ] There seems to be quite a few things left behind. I found letters myself. They are personal, though not as personal as what you happened upon.

[ Or more personal, depending on your point of view, but that's the oblique joke he's making. The letters he found were exchanges between a couple with a family, so it was a glimpse into a set of lives more than anything.

To Achilles's offer, Sebastian looks surprised. ]

Ah, that is kind of you, but do not trouble yourself on my behalf. They are not so bad.

[ It's a polite answer, but he doesn't seem wholly opposed to the help. Technically speaking, it's probably better if Achilles were to help, since Sebastian's ability to patch himself up is fairly limited. He's never really had to, after all. ]

[chariotry]

Well, you're lucky to have only gotten a few scrapes. [ He'll settle next to him and reach for his hand so he can take over bandaging him. He imagines he hasn't had the chance to clean his wounds yet. ]

I saw someone lose a leg earlier. And another guy exploded in front of me after picking up the enemy's grenade. [ He recounts the night's events casually, but his voice is strained from budding anger. He's only showing restraint now because his anger won't do any good for them in these tunnels. He'll seek revenge later on. ]

This kind of bloodshed seems like a waste. There's no skill involved using guns or bombs.

[cutlery]

[ Sebastian hesitates briefly, but he ends up allowing Achilles to bandage him. It's a bit strange, though not the first time. He's allowed humans to fuss over him before, though at least it's not as much of a waste now as normally. Irritating as it may be, he can't will them away at the moment, so it's better to have better prepared bandages than he would do himself. ]

Oh, I am quite grateful for my luck, do not worry. Considering the orders we are working with, it was necessary to save the men, but goodness...

[ He trails off thoughtfully, as if he's reflecting on what he had seen mournfully, but. No. Of course not. He had seen similar sights, even been close enough to get the viscera mixed in with the mud that covered him, but he felt nothing. He had his task to complete, and that came above all else.

Yet he didn't feel excitement either. He knows why, and it's why he's a bit surprised and looks up again as Achilles speaks of skill. ]

Well... I do not know if I agree completely, as there is some to be had, but— [ He makes a thoughtful noise ] It is different, certainly. Much more impersonal, if I were to choose a word.

[chariotry]

Impersonal... [ He echoes the word like it's foreign to him, or like he hadn't considered it before.

He's not great at putting words to his feelings. He often finds that other people are much more able to decipher something he thinks as indescribable.

The bandage is wrapped tight around his wound as he makes quick work of the job. He sits back on his heels. ] That's one way of putting it.

I think one should see the face of the person who kills them.

[cutlery]

[ Sebastian nods, though his expression turns a bit more pensive. ]

Well, I would be inclined to agree with that. [ Though certainly for very different reasons. ] That is the way things go though, I suppose. The longer time marches on, the more efficient things become, for better and for worse.

[ He nods to the bandage with a smile ]

And thank you, of course. It is much quicker to have someone else do it, so I appreciate you taking the time.

[ From there, he smoothly transitions to offering a hand to shake as he shifts to introductions. He's used to introducing himself with a bow, but at this point, he's learned that draws a little more confusion than he'd like. Some amount of confusion is fine, but when it brings the conversation to a halt, that's less than ideal. ]

Sebastian Michaelis. A pleasure.